Farides Vaca
Headshot of Farides Vaca
Official portrait, 2014
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
from Beni circumscription 62
In office
10 February 2010 – 18 January 2015
Substitute
  • Carmelo Egüez
  • Marco Antonio Takusi
Preceded byMaría Teresa Núñez
Succeeded byAna Vidal[lower-greek 1]
Constituency
Personal details
Born
Farides Vaca Suárez

(1969-09-10) 10 September 1969
San Ignacio de Moxos, Beni, Bolivia
Alma materCenter for Accelerated Secondary Education
Occupation
  • Librarian
  • politician
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Farides Vaca Suárez (born 10 September 1969) is a Bolivian librarian and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from Beni, representing circumscription 62 from 2010 to 2015.

Vaca spent the majority of her professional career away from the political field, working as administrator of the 18 de Noviembre Hospital in San Ignacio de Moxos and as librarian of the Technical University of Beni's biochemistry and pharmacy center.

Despite her minimal political experience, Vaca was invited to contest a seat in the Chamber of Deputies as part of a push for renovation among the conservative opposition's leading cadres. After finishing her term in the legislature, Vaca moved on to regional government, forming part of Beni Governor Alejandro Unzueta's administration as departmental director of education and culture and, later, secretary of human development.

Early life and career

Farides Vaca was born on 10 September 1969 in San Ignacio de Moxos, Beni, to Luis Vaca Áñez and Carmen Suárez Mendoza.[1] Her mother made a living as a rural schoolteacher, while her father worked as the foreman of a nearby ranch. Due to her parents' vocations, Vaca spent much of her childhood in the care of her maternal grandparents up until her mother found employment in the city.[2] She completed her early education at local schools in San Ignacio before traveling to La Paz to attend the city's Canadian Baptist Institute, simultaneously working as a secretary at the nearby San Martín de Porres Institute.[1]

At age 17, Vaca returned to San Ignacio to deal with family matters,[3] during which time she attended the Gilfredo Cortés Candía Women's School before finally graduating from the town's Center for Accelerated Secondary Education.[1] Six months into her stay, she married a local lawyer, with whom she owned and operated a small San Ignacio-to-Trinidad transport business.[3] After spending some time as administrator of San Ignacio's 18 de Noviembre Hospital, Vaca moved to Trinidad, the departmental capital, where, from 2002 to 2005, she served as the librarian of the Technical University of Beni's biochemistry and pharmacy center.[1][4]

Chamber of Deputies

Election

Vaca's entry into politics was facilitated through the National Convergence (CN) alliance, a loose consortium of political forces opposed to the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP). Formed to contest the 2009 general election, this fragmentary coalition provided ample autonomy for regional political leaders to designate candidates in their respective departments.[5] In Beni, under the direction of Prefect Ernesto Suárez, CN placed its bets on political renovation, presenting a slate of mostly young candidates with minimal previous party experience. Such was the case with Vaca, who was invited to contest Beni's circumscription 62, an electoral district encompassing her home Moxos Province and the surrounding Ballivián and Marbán provinces.[6] Vaca came out on top in one of the most closely contested races of the entire electoral cycle,[7] defeating her MAS opponent by just over 100 votes.[8] The immensely narrow margin reflected her district's uniquely divided demographics, split between rural indigenous peoples and recent highland peasant settlers affiliated with the MAS and Spanish-speaking urbanites whose pro-autonomy views aligned them with CN.[7]

Tenure

Together with her colleague, Osney Martínez, Vaca was sworn into the Chamber of Deputies on 10 February 2010, twenty-two days after the Legislative Assembly had formally been installed.[9] During her tenure, Vaca spent two non-consecutive terms on the chamber's Cultures Committee and one on its Community-based Economics Committee and was selected to chair the Agriculture Committee.[10] Having served on its directorate since 2011,[11] she was elected president of Beni's parliamentary delegation in 2012, which she presided over for one term.[12] She capped off her parliamentary tenure as part of the lower chamber's directorate, where she served as third secretary until leaving office in 2015.[13]

Commission assignments

  • Chamber of Deputies Directorate (Third Secretary: 2014–2015)[14]
  • Plural Economy, Production, and Industry Commission
    • Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Committee (Secretary: 2011–2012)[15]
    • Community-based Economics and Social Cooperatives Committee (2013–2014)[16]
  • Rural Native Indigenous Peoples and Nations, Cultures, and Interculturality Commission
    • Cultures, Interculturality, and Cultural Heritage Committee (2010–2011, 2012–2013)[17][18]

Later political career

Upon the conclusion of her tenure in the Chamber of Deputies, Vaca retired from national politics, though not from public service. In 2021, she sought to represent the Moxos Province in the Beni Departmental Legislative Assembly on behalf of the Third System Movement (MTS).[19] Although Beni's unique electoral system effectively guaranteed the minority party one seat per province,[20] the MTS's third-place finish in Moxos precluded Vaca from entering the legislature.[21] Nonetheless, the successful election of the MTS's Alejandro Unzueta to the Beni governorship[22] opened avenues for Vaca to continue in public administration. She was made departmental director of education and culture[23] before entering Unzueta's cabinet in early 2022, where she served as secretary of human development.[24]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Farides Vaca
Year Office Alliance Votes Result Ref.
Total  % P.
2009 Deputy National Convergence 5,956 44.71% 1st Won [25]
2021 Assemblywoman Third System Movement 1,111 17.49% 3rd Lost [26]
Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ | Electoral Atlas

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Redistribution; circumscription 59.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 151.
  2. ↑ Gonzales Salas 2013, p. 50.
  3. 1 2 Gonzales Salas 2013, p. 51.
  4. ↑ Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 609.
  5. ↑ Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 419.
  6. ↑ Romero Ballivián 2018, pp. 609–610.
  7. 1 2 Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 610.
  8. ↑ "Publicación de Resultados Nacionales: Elecciones Generales 2009" (PDF). oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: National Electoral Court. 2009. pp. 44, 60. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, pp. 96, 151.
  10. ↑ For citations, see § Commission assignments.
  11. ↑ "Brigada parlamentaria beniana tiene nueva directiva" [Beni parliamentary delegation has new directorate]. La Palabra del Beni (in Spanish). Trinidad. 22 February 2011. p. 7. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023 – via issuu.
  12. ↑ "Brigada parlamentaria con nueva directiva" [Parliamentary delegation elects new directorate]. La Palabra del Beni (in Spanish). Trinidad. 17 February 2012. p. 7. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023 – via issuu.
  13. ↑ Staff writer (22 January 2014). Written at La Paz. "Diputados posesionan la nueva directiva camaral" [Chamber of Deputies swears in new directorate]. La Palabra del Beni (in Spanish). Trinidad. Agencia de Noticias Fides. p. 9. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023 – via issuu.
  14. ↑ Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 25.
  15. ↑ "Comisiones y Comités: Periodo Legislativo 2011–2012". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  16. ↑ Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 313.
  17. ↑ Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 318.
  18. ↑ "Comisiones y Comités: Periodo Legislativo 2012–2013". diputados.bo (in Spanish). Chamber of Deputies. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "Lista Final de Candidaturas Habilitadas de las Organizaciones Políticas y Alianzas en Beni: Movimiento Tercer Sistema" (PDF). oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. 2021. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  20. ↑ Ascarrunz 2021, p. 264.
  21. ↑ "Publicación de Resultados, Primera Vuelta y Segunda Vuelta: Elección de Autoridades Políticas Departamentales, Regionales y Municipales 2021" (PDF). oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. 1 March 2021. p. 72. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  22. ↑ Justiniano, Ana Liz (28 March 2021). "Beni confía su gobernación a odontólogo que luchó contra virus" [Beni entrusts its governorship to a dentist who fought against viruses]. Opinión (in Spanish). Cochabamba. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  23. ↑ "Premiaron a ganadores de concurso sobre educación, cultura y seguridad vial" [Winners of education, culture, and road safety contest are awarded]. La Palabra del Beni (in Spanish). Trinidad. 30 November 2021. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  24. ↑ Farides Vaca asume como secretaria departamental de desarrollo humano [Farides Vaca is sworn in as departmental secretary of human development] (Television production) (in Spanish). Benivisión TV. 11 April 2022. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023 – via Facebook.
  25. ↑ "Elecciones Generales 2009 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  26. ↑ "Eleccion de Asambleístas por Territorio 2021 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2022.

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